Department of Justice

Armed Defendant Located by Police in a Stolen Vehicle Receives 41 Months in Federal Prison

United States Attorney Richard W. Moore of the Southern District of Alabama announced that United States District Court Judge William H. Steele sentenced Rex James Thompson on November 1, 2018 to serve a term of imprisonment of 41 months followed by 3 years of supervised release for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm in violation of Title 18 USC § 922(g)(1). The defendant’s guilty plea was accepted by the Court on July 27, 2018.

On November 17, 2017, deputies from the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call of a medical emergency. When they responded to the scene, they observed a truck in the mud on a dirt road. The deputies were also advised that there was a person “down” in the truck. Medical personnel were already on the scene assisting the vehicle occupant. The vehicle occupant was identified as the defendant, Rex James Thompson. The deputies knew the defendant to be a car thief from previous dealings and they received information that he was armed. The vehicle Thompson occupied had indeed been reported stolen the day before. The deputies arrested the defendant and located a loaded Rossi, Model 38 Special, .38 caliber revolver in his pocket during the pat down. The defendant had an extensive criminal history, which included prior convictions for Receiving Stolen Property in the First Degree, Receiving Stolen Property in the Second Degree, and Attempted Burglary in the Second Degree.

The case was investigated by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Lead Attorney, Assistant United States Attorney George F. May for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama at http://www.justice.gov/usao/als/